The North Dakota legislature has made some immediate changes to North Dakota DUI law that directly impact the 24/7 sobriety program and drug court. Keep reading to learn more about the latest updates.
DUI Drug Court Changes
With the new amendments, a person with multiple previous DUI convictions can reduce their required jail sentence by successfully completes a drug court program. Specifically, the defendant has the possibility of having a court suspend all but 10 days of a mandatory DUI sentence.
24/7 Program Changes
Under the amended DUI law, the court now has the ability to grant a person who has previously participated in the 24/7 program as a bond condition “credit for time served” towards the 24/7 minimum mandatory sentence requirements imposed at the end of the case after a DUI conviction.
DUI Offense Changes
Under the new amended law, an offense will now be classified as a felony if the DUI would be considered a fourth or subsequent offense within a 15 year time period. The previous law made ANY fourth or subsequent offense a Felony regardless of how many years it had been since the prior DUI offense while the amended law now limits the look-back period to 15 years.
Additional Changes
The new DUI law reiterates that multiple DUI violations within one incident must be treated as a single violation for the purpose of a driver’s license suspension or revocation. The amended DUI law also clarifies that refusing to take an onsite screening test is not an offense if the person later cures and submits to a chemical test related to the same incident.
If you believe this new DUI amendments may impact your upcoming court case – contact a O’Keeffe O’Brien Lyson Foss attorney to help guide you in the right direction. Visit our website or give us a call today at (877) 235-8002.
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